%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1342317688027320100%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.[[quoteright:350:[[Website/TheOnion http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_flyover_country_onion_7885.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:Beware...]]

%% Page quote chosen in forum discussion: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=99#2470 %% Please do not change or remove without discussion.->''"A couple of guys in first class on a flight\\From New York to Los Angeles\\...30, 000 feet above, could be Oklahoma\\Just a bunch of square cornfields and wheat farms\\Man, it all looks the same\\Miles and miles of back roads and highways\\Connecting little towns with funny names\\Who'd want to live down there in the middle of nowhere?"''-->--'''Music/JasonAldean''', "Fly Over States"

Where do you live? [[BigApplesauce New York]]? Awesome. [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles L.A.]]? Awesome. UsefulNotes/KansasCity? Uh... where is that, like, in Idaho or something?[[note]] The name is a clue; it's in Missouri, of course. Well, half of it, anyway. There are actually two of them, across from each other in different states on the Missouri River. Usually it's the Missouri one people are referring to rather than the Kansas one.[[/note]]

That's Flyover Country, also known as "the Heartland" or "Middle America" [[note]] which are not necessarily the same thing; see YouKeepUsingThatWord for further details [[/note]] -- American slang for the states which trendy coast-dwellers see only from the window of an airplane. Containing roughly half the country's population (if you're using a narrower definition) but much more of its landmass, this region includes everything between UsefulNotes/LasVegas [[note]] although the area between the Pacific Coast and the Rockies is more properly termed "the Great Basin" and is culturally either Catholic Latino or Anglo-Saxon Mormon, in marked contrast to the largely Teutonic mainline Protestant/Catholic character of the northern Midwest and the Scots-Irish evangelical Baptist character of the southern Midwest [[/note]] and UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} at a minimum -- and is often extended to everything east of the Sierra Nevada and [[Series/ThirtyRock west of the Alleghenies]] (if not the Hudson River).

Sparsely populated, largely rural, and lacking in photogenic glamor, it rarely shows up in works which attempt to appear trendy or up-to-date. It gets much more play in political circles, however, as the quirks of the American electoral system make appeals to smaller states essential. When one talks about the "red state/blue state" divide in American politics, this is what is meant by "red state" -- conservative-leaning rural/suburban areas where UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}, chain restaurants, [[UsefulNotes/AmericanChurches church]], [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school football]], and the Republican Party are pillars of local communities. The phrase "flyover country" was, in fact, coined by right-wing [[TalkShow talk radio]] hosts, to ridicule their imagined concept of what coastal liberal elites thought of the American interior.

Setting a show or a novel here can be shorthand for [[TheFifties '50s-style]] [[TheFundamentalist social conservatism]] [[StopBeingStereotypical (and the common portrayal of this region by Hollywood in the actual Fifties did nothing to help)]], [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere small-town insularity]], or [[PlaceWorseThanDeath a crushingly unhip, even dorky ambiance]] -- think ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' or ''Film/NapoleonDynamite''. However, it gets used at least as often to inspire {{nostalgia|Filter}} for {{Eagleland}} Flavor #1, a friendly, down-home environment full of old-time family values where [[Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion all the women are strong, all the men are good-lookin' and all the children are above average]].[[note]]It should be noted that the above slogan is used by humorist Garrison Keillor to describe the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, which is in the state of Minnesota -- which, amusingly, is usually considered a solidly ''blue'' state ([[BlackSheep Michele Bachmann]] -- who represents a carefully gerrymandered district -- notwithstanding).[[/note]] (Think ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''Series/FridayNightLights'', or an '80s [[Creator/StevenSpielberg Spielberg]]/Amblin movie.)

Needless to say, the truth is a little more complicated than that. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town. There's plenty of culture, style, and nightlife to be found in cities like [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis]], UsefulNotes/KansasCity, or Omaha (a full list of oft-featured cities is included at the end), and they have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). The "red state" perception is pretty off, too: although much of this region is a Republican stronghold, the Great Lakes region is either more or less solidly blue in presidential and senatorial races (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan) or seriously contested (Indiana and dear Lord ''Ohio''), and some other states can be pretty competitive (Missouri, Iowa, and Colorado in particular, although even Nebraska and Kansas get in on the act sometimes).[[note]]They'd be pretty close in Congressional contests, too, if it weren't for gerrymandering and the first-past-the-post system.[[/note]] And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, Colorado[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}}[[note]]home of the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan[[/note]], have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area.

Politically, the cities and their metro areas are also more liberal than the surrounding region. Many of them are ([[DyingTown or were]]) industrial towns with a strong presence of labor unions and minorities, plus college students who stuck around after finishing. In fact, people in the surrounding, rural areas who don't fit in with the arch-conservative lifestyle will tend to relocate to the nearest decent-sized city. These factors frequently produce Democratic islands within states that are otherwise Republican strongholds. Many don't realize that Milwaukee was one of the hotbeds of the Socialist Party up until the second RedScare, and while North Dakota does lean to the right, it has a publicly-owned banking system unique in the nation. (That said, ''social'' conservatism really is stronger here on average than on the coasts, even if economic populism frequently trumps it.)

Culturally also, the flyover region is a lot more diverse than popular folklore tends to credit it. Not merely Protestant in religion, its towns and neighborhoods may instead be heavily Catholic, Jewish, or (at least in the case of Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit) Muslim. To stereotype everyone here as "[[WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant white Anglo-Saxon]] except for the blacks in the inner cities" is also grossly inaccurate; not only are most white Midwesterners of German rather than English stock, but the area's population since the early twentieth century has been an astonishing cross-section of ethnicities from all parts of Europe, and in some cases Asia too (the aforementioned Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi Moslems have been in Dearborn for an entire century, and there is a surprisingly large Thai-American community in Iowa). There are even quite a few Native reservations (no, reservations aren't all in Arizona and New Mexico), including the Lakota (Sioux) community in South Dakota and the Ojibwa (Chippewa) community in Minnesota.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows based in one of the coasts will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, while Midwestern locations are either fictionalized or used as a generic backdrop. For example, ''SexAndTheCity'' used real-life bars and restaurants in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity as the girls' hangouts. Meanwhile, GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}} until long after both shows ended, leading to a horrifically inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

That all said, the depiction of the geographic landscape outside the cities can be quite accurate. The Midwest produces substantial portions of the global supply of corn, wheat, and soybeans (among other crops) so fields in every direction as far as the eye can see is an absolute truth for much of the area. Furthermore, large parts of it are very flat with no more than some low hills (there's a reason the center of the country is called the Great ''Plains''), but flatness is not universal.

As mentioned above, if a show is actually based in one of the cities here, whether or not it's a subversion of this trope depends on how much research the writer has done (read: usually not much). However, the following tropes and locales of Middle America feature highly in the media:

* DownOnTheFarm: Covers the majority of the region.* EverytownAmerica: When you need a generic suburb, you need only slap it in the middle of Indiana and call it a day.* UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}, Colorado* Illinois** UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, though this depends on who you're asking. It's big enough that many people consider it a separate entity, and nationally, it's spoken of by conservatives (especially those from ''southern'' Illinois) in the same derisive terms as the East and West Coasts, with TheMafia and [[BombThrowingAnarchist Bomb Throwing Anarchists]] thrown in for good measure. However, it's still looked down upon by more provincial New Yorkers as a "wannabe" BigApplesauce, only with worse weather. Plus, the city is relatively isolated compared to New York and LA; outside the Chicagoland metro area are cornfields and Milwaukee. In other words, Chicago is stuck in a twilight zone on the edge of Flyover Country -- too urban for Middle America, too Midwestern for the coasts. A sharp contrast to...** Peoria: Seen, for some reason, as ''the'' quintessential [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere dull, banal Middle American city]]. The phrase [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_it_play_in_Peoria%3F "will it play in Peoria?"]] emerged in the {{vaudeville}} era to describe an act that would have mass appeal nationwide, especially in the heartland (Peoria was a major Midwestern stop for many vaudeville performers), and later became popular among marketers, politicians, and pollsters. Starting in TheSixties, it became a major test market, and to this day most American focus groups are based in the city (which is a rather outdated notion, as it now Missouri, not Illinois, that marks the official U.S. population center).* Indiana** UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}: Home of the Indy 500.** Muncie: A small Midwestern city that, not unlike Peoria, would be another obscure burg if not for its very "averageness" turning it into a hotbed of sociological research. The husband-and-wife team of Robert and Helen Lynd selected it for their [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown_studies "Middletown studies"]] in the 1920s and '30s, and since then it's become a popular subject for pollsters and follow-up studies.* Missouri** [[UsefulNotes/StLouis St. Louis]]** UsefulNotes/KansasCity* UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}}** UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}* UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, Wisconsin* Minnesota: Often viewed as being a {{Flanderization}} of every Midwestern stereotype, home of people with thick, Scandinavian-descended accents who embody the American version of JapanesePoliteness, known (of course) as MinnesotaNice.** [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis and St. Paul]]* UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}** UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}}** UsefulNotes/{{Toledo|Ohio}}** Columbus: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, but it's another hotbed of sociological study and commercial test runs due to its racial and age demographics closely mirroring the United States as a whole. Furthermore, the city lacks a strong regional identity, even compared to other Ohio cities. Basically, it's Peoria or Muncie as a major metropolis.* Pennsylvania (outside of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}})** UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}** Pennsylvania itself has a mini flyover country. The state is often described as "Philly in the east, Pittsburgh in the west, and [[DeepSouth Kentucky/Alabama/]]''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' in beween," referring to the large rural zone in the middle of the state where coal mining, farming, and manufacturing make up the economic backbone. The nickname "Pennsyltucky" (or, more politely, "The T"[[note]]If you remove the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas from Pennsylvania, what you have left is shaped roughly like the letter T. "The T" is used far more in political circles than "Pennysltucky", as the latter can be seen as insulting, especially when used by an [[NWordPrivileges urban politician]].[[/note]]) describes this region with either derision or SelfDeprecation.* [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]]* UsefulNotes/{{Utah}}: Despite being located quite far from the Midwest, most stereotypes of the state, and of UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}}s in general, are essentially {{Mi|nnesotaNice}}dwestern {{ste|pfordSmiler}}reotypes cranked UpToEleven. Mormonism did indeed spend many of its formative years in the Midwest[[note]]Specifically, in Jackson, Clay, and Caldwell Counties in Missouri, and later in Nauvoo, Illinois. It originated in upstate New York[[/note]], before heading to what's now Utah in search of a land without a pre-existing Christian population to disapprove of their religion. Many of the early Mormon converts in Europe also came from Scandinavia, not unlike the upper Midwest, and moved to Utah soon after.* [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Upstate New York]]: Technically outside the region, but often given the same treatment, especially by people from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. It is in fact quite different from most media depictions of New York; descriptions of it as a virgin wilderness in the works of James Fenimore Cooper are, in many cases, only slightly exaggerated.

The southeastern US, while sometimes considered part of the region, carries many of its own stereotypes and is often treated as a separate entity. For more information on that, see DeepSouth and UsefulNotes/{{Appalachia}}. The rough UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}n equivalent would be the Outback or, more broadly, the areas outside the "capital cities".